Blood Ties
by Alani
Summary: After his whole group is tragically killed, Daryl finds himself alone with the baby. Ten years later, Sophia Carol Lori Dixon starts asking questions about what she had found in the attic of their house. Their somewhat peaceful lives are shattered by the arrival of someone from Daryl's past. There may be a hint of Caryl in later chapters. Please R&R!
1. PROLOGUE

**BLOOD TIES**

**SUMMARY**: After his whole group is tragically killed, Daryl finds himself alone with the baby. Ten years later, Sophia Carol Lori Dixon starts asking questions about what she had found in the attic of their house. Their somewhat peaceful lives are shattered by the arrival of someone from Daryl's past. Will Daryl lose Sophia for good when she finds out the truth about what happened to her real family?

**DISCLAIMER**: The Walking Dead characters aren't mine.

**PROLOGUE**

_Daryl aimed his crossbow at the Walker's head and pulled the trigger. The Walker dropped dead and he killed a few more before he was able to move forward. He could hear Walkers growling from a distance._

" _Rick!" he shouted and his voice echoed. As he got closer, he soon discovered there was no exit-it was a dead end. As he got closer, he saw a shadow of someone slumped against the back wall. He walked forward and saw that it was Rick Grimes. Rick was surrounded by dead walkers. But that wasn't the bad part. Rick was holding a gun to his own temple.  
_

" _Rick!" Daryl shouted and Rick jumped at the sound of Daryl's voice. Daryl grabbed the gun from Rick's hand and knelt down in front of Rick. _

" _What the hell do you think you're doing?" Daryl demanded, trying to keep his cool. There was no way he was going to lose anyone else. The latest victim had been young Carl-taken by Walkers two days ago. Blood pumped steadily from a wound in his left side. He ripped up some of his shirt and applied pressure to it. _

_The shirt stained red in seconds._

" _What does it look like?" Rick replied, his face expressionless. "Take a look around-there are Walkers everywhere. They just keep coming. I have nothing-or nobody to live for."_

" _What about the baby? You still have her." Daryl reminded him, anger building._

" _You and I both know I never bonded with the baby. Why would I want to? She killed my wife," Rick said and made a sudden move for the gun but Daryl kept it out of reach. Rick was in no shape to move so he put down his crossbow, grabbed Rick's arm and draped it around his shoulders, " I'm going to carry you out-"_

_Rick shoved him away, " I said leave me alone for God's sake!"_

" _You are being selfish, you know that?" Daryl shouted at Rick furiously._

" _Selfish? There's no one left to care." Rick replied dully. _

_Daryl didn't move. He could hear the Walkers growling, they were coming closer. The baby gurgled, she was strapped to his back in a makeshift baby carrier Beth had made. _

" _There's no sense in both of us dying," Rick told him," I can be a distraction for the Walkers while you escape."_

" _No, that's suicide."_

" _Daryl, you know there's no other choice-not if you want the baby to survive," Rick said.. Deep down he worried about the baby's safety, but he missed Lori and Carl too much to survive for the baby's sake. He knew Daryl would take care of her-Daryl had basically taken care of the baby since she was born. _

_The baby started crying then and Daryl looked over his shoulder to see a group of ten Walkers limping towards them. _

" _Give me the gun and go!" Rick shouted. In a split decision, Daryl him the gun and ran towards the Walkers, killing them as he went. He heard gunshots behind him as he made his escape. There had only been five Walkers left for Rick to kill. Daryl counted three gunshots. He waited for the last two but they never came. He ran back towards the building and headed for the corridor when he heard Rick's agonising scream. Chills went through Daryl as he saw two Walkers eating his friend alive. He raised his crossbow and aimed, killing one, then the other. He stepped over the dead Walkers and stopped in front of Rick. _

" _I'm sorry Rick," he said to the thing that had been Rick Grimes. The Walker lifted its head and growled at him. The gun was at its feet. Daryl picked it up but knew a gunshot would alert more Walkers. He aimed his crossbow at Rick and for the first time, his hands shook. _

_Just do it Dixon, that is not your friend. It's the thing that killed him. _He reminded himself. He closed his eyes and aimed.


	2. Chapter One

**CHAPTER ONE**

**Author's Note**: I've just finished watching the episode _Say The Word_. It was that episode that gave me the idea for this story. Sorry if this chapter is so short. Future chapters will be longer, I promise.

* * *

Daryl ran through the prison grounds, heading straight towards his motorbike. He had adjusted the baby carrier so that Lil Ass-Kicker was strapped to his front. He sheathed his crossbow and kept running, the Walkers lumbering behind him. He made it to the gate and yanked it open. The baby started crying again and Daryl knew it's been awhile since her last bottle. Trying hard not to look back at his former "home", he clambered onto his motorbike and roared away.

Daryl parked his bike and climbed off. He had been driving aimlessly for an hour and the baby was screaming her lungs out, making him go deaf. He looked around, he was deep in the woods that had surrounded the prison. He didn't know where he was going exactly-he just had to get them somewhere safe. But for now, he needed a rest. And the baby needed a feed.

He carefully lifted Lil Ass-Kicker from the baby carrier and sat down against a tree. He rummaged around in his backpack until he found the bottle of formula. It was half empty and he had no more formula with him. _Fuck, the rest of the baby stuff is back at the prison, _He remembered, cursing. He should have grabbed the baby stuff before fleeing, but the thought never crossed his mind. He cursed again.

_Daryl, don't curse in front of the baby_, he could hear Carol reprimanding him as the baby finished the whole bottle. " Sorry Lil Ass-Kicker, there's no more." He said, putting the bottle back into the backpack. It hadn't been enough but at least she had stopped crying. _I can't do this, _He thought to himself, _I lost people-people I eventually started to care about and I don't know anything about raising babies. _

There was one other option-he could try and find some other people and give the baby to them. But who would want the burden of caring for a baby? And anyway, if he did that, he'd truly be alone.


	3. Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

Author's Note; This fic will take place in the show's current timeline (give or take a few weeks after the baby's birth) and the future respectively. This is rated T for swearing and violence.

_TEN YEARS LATER_

Sophia Carol Lori Dixon sat down on the floor of the attic and opened the box closet to her. The attic was big but was only half-full of boxes and junk. She flicked on her flashlight. She didn't dare turn on the attic light-if her father caught her up here, she'd be in big trouble. She peered into the box and pulled out a sheriff's hat. She frowned as she inspected it. What would her father being doing with a sheriff's hat? Was he once a sheriff? Her father never talked about his past. She didn't know anything about him.

The only things she knew and that she was his whole world and its always been just her and daddy. Literally. There weren't any other people around, he told her all the people had been killed by horrible monsters before she was even born. When she tried to get him to talk more about what happened, he'd refused to say anything more. So eventually she stopped asking. But now she had more questions. Lots more.

She found a sheriff's badge and the thing that guns were kept in. What were they called? She couldn't remember. She put them aside and took out a photograph of a man, woman and a kid. Were they married and was the kid their son? The kid looked about her age. _Who are these people? Why does Daddy have this stuff? Did it belong to them? _

She heard the front door open and slam shut. " Sophia!" her daddy was home.

" Sophia, where you at girl?"

She put the things back into the box hurriedly and clambered down the stairs and pushed them back up into the ceiling. Her father appeared in the hallway which lead to their rooms and the bathroom.

" What have you been up to while I was gone?" he asked, unstrapping his crossbow. She stared at it, she always been fascinated with it but he never allowed her to even touch it. He patrolled for an hour every night, keeping an eye on the monsters. She hadn't seen any for ages and he always said they couldn't be too careful. He called them Walkers. She never seen one before and kind of wished she did-she always wanted to see her daddy in action with that crossbow. She wished he would teach her how to use it. She decided to ask him.

" No," he replied-somewhat snappily. He didn't mean to snap at her. He was tired and it had been a long day of scavenging for supplies. He didn't like the idea of his daughter handling a weapon.

" Why?" she pleaded," I would need to defend myself one day-you won't always be around daddy,"

Daryl had looked at her crossly, " I said no Sophia. You are too young-and besides, the crossbow is too big for you."

" A gun then. Teach me how to use a gun." She didn't like guns, they were too loud. Daryl didn't use guns much either because he had once explained Walkers can hear gunshots from far away.

" No. And don't ask me again." Daryl said, opening a can of beer and sitting down in his favourite armchair.

" What if a Walker comes to the house when you're gone and attacks me? I won't know how to defend myself!"

Daryl sighed. How did he manage to raise such a stubborn kid? And one that was wise beyond her ten years?

" Let me think about it Sophia." Daryl said after much pleading. He only said that to make her stop.

" That usually means no," Sophia replied sulkily and stomped away. He heard her bedroom door slam shut and he winced. He hated doors being slammed and she knew it.

Not only was she stubborn and too wise for her own good, she can also be bratty when she wants to be. _She'll grow out of it-I hope. _Daryl thought as he went into the kitchen to reheat his dinner. It wasn't anything fancy, it was a tv dinner.

_Carl was taught how to use a weapon at a young age, why can't Sophia? _He imagined what Carol would say to him if she'd been in the room.

" Yeah, and look where that got him." Daryl told the empty room


	4. Chapter Three

**CHAPTER THREE**

" Sophia," Daryl opened the door to his daughter's bedroom and walked inside. She was fast asleep and he turned her lamp on, " It's time to wake up."

Sophia opened her eyes and stared sleepily at him. She glanced over at her alarm clock and was shocked to see it was 6am. He never woke her that early.

" It's too early," she protested and pulled the blankets over her head.

" You wanted to learn how to use the crossbow didn't you?" Daryl replied and she sat up.

" You're going to teach me how to use the crossbow?"

" Yes and maybe a gun too. Now get dressed and come and have some breakfast before I change my mind." Daryl left the room and she climbed out of bed. She got dressed quickly and hurried to the kitchen, afraid he really would change his mind. She found he had already cooked breakfast-usually she got her own and it was always cereal. But today it was eggs and toast with orange juice.

" You're going to need energy for what I have planned today," Daryl told her.

" What do you have planned?" Sophia asked, taking a gulp of orange juice before starting on the eggs.

" Wait and see," her father replied, sitting down opposite her with his own breakfast. He wondered if he was doing the right thing.

Straight after breakfast, Sophia followed Daryl out to the backyard. They lived on an old, abounded farm, basically out in the middle of nowhere. Their property was surrounded by woods.

Daryl lead her to a large pen at the back of their property. Sophia stopped dead in her tracks when she saw what was in it.

Two Walkers. Tied up to a tree. They were snarling and swaying from side to side.

" Walkers," she breathed. She'd never seen one up close before. " Where did you find them Dad?"

" It doesn't matter," he replied, he unstrapped his crossbow and unlocked the gate, " These are your target practice."

" But…I thought we were going to shoot at cans," Sophia said. She couldn't take her always away from the Walkers.

" How's that going to help? You're gonna need to learn how to kill these Walkers. Like you said, I won't always be around. C'mon," Daryl walked right up to the Walkers. He didn't seem afraid of them.

Sophia stepped inside the pen and her father handed her his gun, " We'll start with a gun first," he declared.

Sophia looked down at the firearm. It felt awkward and heavy to hold. " Don't Walkers hear guns from far away?" she asked him.

" This one has a silencer." Daryl took the gun from her and aimed it at the tree. He pulled the trigger-he was right, there was no sound. He gave it back to her and went behind the tree as Sophia inspected the gun closely.

" Sophia, pay attention!" Daryl said and left the pen, locking the gate behind him.

" Dad?" she looked over her shoulder and saw one of the Walkers lumbering towards her. He had locked her in the pen! This wasn't what she had been expecting at all.

" Aim for his head, you'll be fine." Daryl promised. He had his crossbow just in case. This was better than shooting at damn cans. This way Sophia could get real practice.

Sophia used two hands as she lifted the gun and aimed for the Walker's head. She started walking backwards and the gap between her and the Walker was closing fast. Her hands shook as she tried to focus on the Walker's head.

" C'mon Sophia, pull the trigger. He's coming!" Daryl shouted at her. She stumbled, tripped and fell, losing all focus.

" Get up!" Daryl urged her.

Sophia scrambled to her feet and pulled the trigger. The bullet missed the first time, but the second didn't. It hit the Walker in the forehead and down he went, head exploding and blood going everywhere. Some of it even landed on her shirt.

" I…did it," she said in amazement as Daryl re-entered the pen and inspected the Walker.

" Of course you did," Daryl nodded with satisfaction, looking pleased," I knew you can do it Sophia." He took the gun from her and handed her the crossbow. It was heavier than it looked and it took all her strength to hold it up.

" You'll get used to it." he assured her and went to untie the second Walker. Sophia swallowed nervously as he left the pen. The Walker started towards her just as the first one had done. She stood still and aimed the crossbow at him and fired. The first two arrows missed but the third one got him in the eye. This didn't kill him however.

" The head!" Daryl reminded her and she got eventually killed him on the sixth arrow.

" You're much better with the gun. But it's too early to tell just yet," Daryl said,

" Let me get rid of these and we can keep going."

" Why did you lock in me here?" Sophia asked.

" It's the only way you'll learn how to kill Walkers. Nothing was going to happen to you," _Nothing will ever happen to you when I'm around. _Daryl thought.


	5. Chapter Four

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**Author's Note**: Well, this is fic is now AU. I've just seen the latest episode where Carl names his sister Judith. I'm still going to keep the name Sophia Carol Lori Dixon-just because. Thanks for the great reviews.

Daryl checked his backpack and Sophia's, " Okay, let's go." He said, handing Sophia's backpack to her.

" Go where?" she asked.

" We're going for a walk," Daryl declared and started off-towards the fence that surrounded their property. Beyond the fence was the vast woodlands. Sophia didn't move. She was never allowed near the fence, much less beyond it.

Daryl looked over his shoulder, " You coming?" he called to her and she hurried to catch up.

They'd been walking for a good hour. Sophia had no clue where they were going or why they were walking through the woods in the first place. They took a break, sitting on rocks near a small creak. Sophia took a long drink from her water bottle and looked inside her backpack and noticed her father had packed lunch, a spare water bottle and a sweater-just in case she got cold later, she assumed. It was a mild day but it got cold quickly as winter was on its way.

They ate their lunch and Daryl announced it was time to move again. They came across a small bridge and walked across it, which lead them to a clearing.

" How big are these woods?" she asked Daryl as he scanned their surroundings.

" Big," he replied matter-of-factly and continued on. Her father wasn't much of a conversationalist so Sophia daydreamed as they walked.

Her daydreams were interrupted when she heard growling. She looked up to find her father had disappeared. " Dad?" she called, looking around but he was gone. A Walker appeared and it noticed her.

" Dad, where are you?" she shouted but got no reply. She reached for her gun, which was hooked on her belt. She held the gun in her trembling hands and aimed it at the Walker.

Daryl watched Sophia from his hiding spot behind the tree. When he had heard the Walker and saw that Sophia wasn't paying attention, he ran towards the nearest tree and hid behind it. _What are you doing Daryl? _He could hear Carol ask him. _This way she can get lots of practice and get good. _Daryl replied. He noticed Sophia's hands were shaking but she had the gun aimed at the Walker.

" _Keep the baby safe," Daryl told young Carl as he strapped on his crossbow. The kid held his baby sister and nodded, watching his father pack up the car. _

" _You won't be gone long?" the kid asked hopefully. He didn't want to stay in this prison for too long on his own. _

" _No, we are just going for a supply run. We'll be twenty minutes. As long you stay in the cell with Lil Ass-Kicker, you'll be fine," Daryl assured him as Rick walked over to them. _

" _You ready?" He asked Daryl who nodded. He looked down at his son._

" _Remember what we told you. Stay in the cell. Never leave your sister," his father instructed and Carl nodded solemnly. He watched them leave and went back into the cell and sat down on the bottom bunk with his sister. She was asleep and would be for awhile. He had just fed her. She was a good sleeper and would sleep through the night. _

_He had nodded off and dreamed he could hear Walkers. He jerked awake and looked down at his sister who was still asleep when he heard growls. He sat still and listened-the growls he had heard in his dreams had been real. There were Walkers and they sounded close. _

_He looked at the door of his cell, it was locked tight. He stood up and walked over to the locked door and listened. The growls were too close for comfort. He had to know were they were. _

_He looked over at his sister. His father told him never to leave her, but she'd be safe locked in this cell. He unlocked the door and locked it behind him. He grabbed his gun and took the safety off and headed towards the growls of the Walkers. _

_He saw three of them in the halls and he killed the first two. They dropped and the third continued walking towards him. He fired a third time and more Walkers kept coming. He backed up, firing at each one but they just kept coming. There were too many of them to kill and he wondered where they had come from. How did they breech the prison?_

_He heard a growl behind him and he whirled around. He was surrounded. The only safe place was the cell, but he was afraid they'd follow him there and get his sister too. _

_I'd let them take me before they take my sister! He vowed and kept firing until he had no more bullets left. He stood still as the Walkers grabbed at him. When he felt the first bite, he tried to scream but no sound came out. The pain unbearable but didn't black out. He saw the faces of the Walkers as they tore the flesh from him, he felt blood pouring from him. _

_Let me pass out, let me pass out, He prayed. He found his voice and screamed as a Walker bit into his arm and started chewing. That was when blackness finally swamped him. _


	6. Chapter Five

**CHAPTER FIVE**

_A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates, but life just got in the way. And I'm catching up with season three. Just seen the episode __**"Home"**__. Told you I was way behind. _

It was Sophia's shout that bought Daryl out of his reverie and he glanced over at his daughter. The Walker was dead, she had killed him and looked pretty pleased with herself. That shout hadn't been a scared shout, it was more of a jubilant shout.

" Good job," he said and she grinned.

" Think I'm getting the hang of this," she said, " Are there more?"

" You did good-let's go," Daryl started off and she followed,

" Can I practice with the crossbow some more?" she asked.

" No. We're going home," Daryl said and started off towards the way they came.

" Why? It's not that late-" she started to protest.

" We only have three hours of daylight left and I want get back before dark," he said sharply. She glared at him, wondering why he had a sudden change of heart. She followed him and they walked the rest of the way back in silence.

Sophia glanced over at Daryl during dinner. He had been moody ever since they went hunting. He barely spoke to her, he ate his dinner before telling her he was going to patrol. " You had better be in bed by the time I get back," was the last thing he said to her before he left.

Daryl felt a stab of guilt as he left the house and started to walk towards the gates. He didn't mean to be grumpy at Sophia-but watching her kill those Walkers reminded of him Carl and that had bought back a lot of bad memories. Sophia reminded him a lot of Carl.

Sophia headed for the attic and began looking through the boxes again until she found what she was looking for. The sheriff's hat, badge and a gun-it was blood stained and not loaded. She found the photograph of the man, woman and boy and pocketed it.

There were a ton of other boxes but she would look through them another night. She hated to admit it, but the hunt wore her out. She left the attic and stored the things she found under her bed. She knew they'd be safe there, her dad didn't snoop through her stuff. Not that she knew of anyway. She climbed into bed, and stuck the photograph in the book she was reading, and promptly fell asleep.

Daryl came back from his patrol and went to check in on Sophia. He peered into her room and saw she was fast asleep. She had fallen asleep with a book on her chest. It slipped to the floor and a photo fell out. He went to pick them up and turned the photograph over. His heart gave a flip.

It was a photo of her late parents and big brother Carl. _She's been snooping around the attic, _He thought, _She knows she's not allowed in there. _But Sophia's always been curious. What other stuff did she find? He went down onto his knees and peered under the bed. She had found Carl's hat, his gun and badge. His heart twisted painfully, seeing Carl's things there. He stood up again and left Sophia's room.

Sophia might have found their things, but she doesn't know who they are. Daryl assured himself.

_Isn't time she was told the truth? _He heard Carol's voice in his head ask him.


	7. Chapter Six

**CHAPTER SIX**

Daryl left Carl's things where they were. He still wasn't ready to tell Sophia about her late family. It will just reopen old wounds. He went to his room and collapsed onto his bed, fully clothed. _You should really tell her Daryl. How long are you going to keep the truth about her family from her? _He heard Carol ask him.

" As far as I'm concerned-forever." Daryl replied.

_It's wrong and you know it. She deserves the truth. _

" She doesn't need to know how they died-they all died horrible deaths." he muttered. " She's better off not knowing. Now leave me alone Carol."

" Do you remember how _I_ died?" the ghost of Carol's voice demanded him, " Or have you forgotten?"

" Believe me, I haven't forgotten. It haunts me every day. There isn't a day where I wish…" he trailed off, " Where I wish I could have saved you."

" There was nothing you could have done," Carol reminded him.

" I know, I don't need reminding'" Daryl said. Carol's voice vanished and he fell into an uneasy sleep.

_They heard them coming, and they were outnumbered. Daryl covered for Carol as they killed the Walkers but they just kept coming. Daryl looked over his shoulder and saw the gate to the prison was wide open. There wasn't anybody left now to man the gates. The only two people besides them that was left were Rick and Hershel but both had lost their children and were currently incapacitated to do anything. So it was up to him and Carol to guard the prison and it hasn't been easy._

_Carol reloaded her gun and kept firing as she and Daryl made their way to the gate. " Close the gate before they breech the prison!" Daryl shouted at her._

" _I know!" Carol replied and made a run for it. Two Walkers got distracted by her and followed her as Daryl killed three more. He was getting tired and tiredness meant sloppiness. He grabbed at his arrow and stabbed the Walker in the forehead. The Walker's head exploded and he was splattered with its blood. _

_Carol had managed to kill the two that had followed her and she and Daryl ran for the safety of the prison, both of them forgetting the gate was still open. _

" _We made it," Carol said, she was drenched with sweat and Daryl looked awful, he was soaked with blood and sweat. _

" _Yeah," Daryl looked a bit shaken as he leaned against a wall and lit up a cigarette, " Guarding the prison's been tough now that there's only two of us to do it."_

_Carol sat down and leaned against the wall, " Rick and Hershel aren't themselves. Hershel thought I was Maggie again."_

_Daryl finished his cigarette and lit another. Carol noticed he'd been smoking regularly now. It worried her. _

" _Maybe we ought to do something about it." Daryl suggested._

" _You're not thinking…"_

" _It might be for the best. End their suffering." Daryl said._

_Carol shook her head, " I won't be able to do it Daryl. Rick and Hershel are like family to me. They need to grieve for their children and then they'll come back to us eventually. They just need time." _

" _They've had a month," Daryl replied-more harshly then he intended, " They are no use to us like this."_

" _They just need more time. Don't give up on them." Carol pleaded and that's when she remembered they had left the gate open. _

" _We left the gates open," she reminded Daryl. _

_He stubbed out his cigarette, " Then we'd better close it. Who knows how many Walkers have breached the prison." _

" _I'll do it," Carol said, " You need to go and check on Rick and Hershel."_

_Daryl nodded, he knew Carol can handle herself when it came to facing Walkers alone. She's done it before-she had to once. She was a tough lady and he respected her for it. _

_Carol ran for the gate, killing three Walkers who had gotten past the gate. She closed the gate and went back inside, not seeing the Walker she thought she had killed get up from the ground and follow her. _


	8. Chapter Seven

**CHAPTER SEVEN **

_Daryl wondered what was keeping Carol. Rick and Hershel were nearby, lost in their own worlds. He may as well be alone in the room. He decided he had better look for her, closing a gate shouldn't take this long. He grabbed his crossbow and headed out again. _

_He turned his flashlight on and walked down the long passageway. He rounded a cirer and spotted Carol sitting down, leaning against a wall._

" _Carol!" he ran over to her and knelt down in front of her, " Are you okay?" he asked her. She looked at him with glazed eyes. Carol's hand was pressed against her left side and blood seeped through her fingers. Her neck had also been gnawed on. He took her hand away and his heart froze. The bite was worse than he thought, she had been literally holding her guts in. _

" _Oh God, Carol…"_

_Carol tried to speak but she coughed up some blood. Daryl took out a tissue and wiped the blood from her mouth. " It was on me before…before he bit me. But I killed him," she pointed at something behind him and he looked over his shoulder. The Walker lay dead with her knife still lodged in its head. _

" _Let's get you back," Daryl said and picked her up in his arms. He carried her back to the room, her blood staining his shirt but he didn't care. He headed into a cell and lay her gently onto a bed. He grabbed some medical supplies and ripped open her shirt. She reached up and grabbed his hnd. _

" _There's no point Daryl, I've been bitten," she said weakly. She was right. Once bitten, there was nothing you can do. _

_A shadow fell over them and he looked up. It was Hershel. _

" _She's been bitten?" he asked. It was the first time he's spoken in a month. Daryl nodded and Hershel rolled up his sleeves and knelt down beside the bunk. _

" _There's no point," Carol said again through moans._

" _We are not losing anyone else," Hershel replied and started to work on her wounds. _

" _Hershel, please. You know there's nothing you can do…" she trailed off and her eyes closed. _

" _Carol?" Daryl stared down at her.. The very idea of Carol turning into a Walker scared him more than anything. Her eyes opened._

" _It's happening, I can feel it," she rasped and coughed up some more blood, " Daryl, you know what must be done."_

_Hershel had stopped tending to the wounds. He knew it was a hopeless situation. He got up and left the cell without a word. _

" _No."_

_Carol stared at him with her glazed expression, " You were willing to kill Rick and Hershel. You were willing to end their suffering. So why not me?" she started coughing again and he wiped the blood away. _

" _This is different. I can't-" _

" _It's not so different and yes you can. Through the brain." _

_Daryl sighed. " I'll be right back," he told her. He left the cell and saw Hershel sitting on a chair, gazing into space. He went back to the passageway and found the Walker that had bitten Carol. He yanked her knife out of its head and went back to her. _

_He knelt down by the bed and took her hand in his. _

" _Thanks, " she whispered. _

" _I'm so sorry," he said, clutching the knife in his hand and raising it._

" _I love you Daryl," she told him simply and he nodded._

" _I know." He replied " I love you too." He was about to stab her brain but he froze. The knife dropped from his hand and fell to the floor. _

" _I'm sorry-I can't," he said, standing up. _

" _Daryl…" she moaned. _

_He stumbled backwards and ran out of the cell. He heard Hershel calling his name but he didn't look back. _


End file.
